


Of Liquor, Pairings and M&M's

by HalfBloodLoki



Series: Rivers and Hunter [1]
Category: Marvel (Movies), Marvel Avengers Movies RPF, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Gen, Other, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-20
Updated: 2014-03-20
Packaged: 2018-01-16 09:10:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1341439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HalfBloodLoki/pseuds/HalfBloodLoki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Saturday nights were always fun when Lizzie and Jade got together. But throw a billionaire, a scientist, a super-soldier and the God of thunder into the mix – you’re looking at one hell of a weekend!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Liquor, Pairings and M&M's

**Author's Note:**

> This is just something that me and my friend joked about a while back and a dream I had influenced the rest.
> 
> Dedicated to my Lizzie-Lou :D

Saturday nights were always fun when Lizzie and Jade got together. But throw a billionaire, a scientist, a super-soldier and the God of thunder into the mix – you’re looking at one hell of a weekend!

 

Liz and Jade had been part of SHIELD during the New York fiasco last year, and had been friends for years before that. In fact they’d met back in Britain, their native country, during secondary school some years ago. The pair had come together on their first day and had been inseparable ever since.

 

They even ended up going to the same training facilities as trainees at SHIELD after university. They excelled during their later studies and were picked up by Coulson in the middle of their third semester at Harvard. However, after New York, the pair had split. Liz had decided to remain “Agent Rivers” with SHIELD while Jade had taken up employment in Stark Tower. In fact she worked as personal assistant to the “Supers” after the resignation of one Pepper Potts.

 

Mainly it included doing jobs that Stark was too lazy to complete himself, such as making him coffee, collecting lunches/dinners/breakfasts/snacks and so on and so forth. The others however, tended to be more reasonable. Some even refused to accept her help.

 

Like Rogers. The soldier was so bashful – he was like a child. The most Jade was ever allowed to help him was usually when he was trying to work out how to use the toaster or microwave. Even then Jade always had to intervene – not upon request, but on mere necessity.

 

Banner, was best defined as, the introvert. He’d ask her to pick up food now and again. But normally she ended having to take it upon herself to take him food and drink - sometimes even administer minor first aid. The poor guy would often go without for the sake of research, Jade had started to wonder if there was even anything left for him to discover…All he ever seemed to do was sit cooped up in his little lab. Well, I say little. The place was huge! an easy rival to Stark’s workshop. But Bruce found solace there, among his screens and tubes and papers. Heaven knows that Banner deserved a small safe haven. He deserved much more than that after everything he’d been through.

 

Then there was Thor. He meant well. He always meant well, but usually did more harm than good. Like Steve, he was technologically (and socially) inept. Except while Steve was usually willing to accept help, Thor was not. Jade would put it down to the fact that he felt emasculated due to the fact he needed to be helped, not only by a female, but a Midgardian female who probably weighed about as much as one of his biceps and was at least half his size! Now, Thor had no problems with Midgardians. He was fascinated by them if anything… But his Asgardian morality stuck with him, in the same way that Steve’s 40’s morality had stuck with him.

 

But anyway…I digress.

 

It was another day in the tower, Jade was going about her duties – her asymmetric hair framed her pale face on the one side, a long fringe brushed behind her right ear. She was petite, not that anyone told her so – for fear of an elbow to the gut, but still had a feminine figure – an hourglass. She strode through the hall of the fourteenth floor, the thin heels of her black Louboutins clicking against the hard floor. The woman had been summoned by Tony for a few “light duties” which meant she was bound to be busy until gone 4pm… and it was only 10:30! He’d been bothering her via intercom for the past ten minutes with no more than a call of her name every few moments, alternating between ‘Jade’ or ‘Hunter’. The nature of his voice varied from buzz to buzz, along with the snippets of AC DC's “Back in Black” and “Walk This Way” by Aerosmith – two of Jade’s favourite songs. But that made it no less irksome. Thor had been having a bad time with some of the tech and had thrown a tantrum – tossing his legendary hammer through a window – and so Jade had been trying to clear up the bill and fitting for the screen glass. Tony had not been aiding her in any way with his constant calling.

 

Why had she agreed to have a personal intercom/pager system installed? Oh that’s right! because she’d wanted to make things easy…Which, when Tony Stark was involved, was nigh-on impossible.

 

Jade kept her pace leisurely. She wasn’t going to rush for Stark – she was glad to be away from her desk, and so, took her time as she wandered the hall towards the Iron Man’s toy room. She even had a little sing to herself – today’s choice? Billy Joel’s “Vienna”, something that Jade had not sung for a while. Her British accent was clear – though not the typical “posh London-y accent” as Barton called it. Though she did have a tendency to take on a cockney edge when annoyed (according to Liz) or a Westminster-esque edge when lecturing (also according to Liz).

 

As Jade reached Stark’s workshop, she noted that, through the glass, the playboy was nowhere to be seen, though he had to be in here since his music was still playing. She keyed in her code, before walking in – looking around for any sign of him. Eventually, blue orbs found their target…He was no more than a pair of denim clad legs and booted feet beneath his beloved Audi. Jade sighed, striding over to him.

 

“What?” she asked tartly, though a half smile graced her delicate features. This kind of tone was not uncommon with Jade – but it was seldom to be genuinely malicious. It seemed, however, that she had remained unheard due to the blaring music. In fact, Stark seemed so enthralled in his task that he was singing along “Sex on Fire” – another of her favourite songs. So Jade, as a natural reaction, kicked the brunette’s thigh lightly – more of a nudge really – to gently rouse him from his work.

 

She gained no more than a twitch of said leg in reaction. The petite thing frowned, a heavy sigh falling from glossy lips. She kicked him again, at the side of the knee – a little harder this time.

 

At this, the man seemed to realise he was not alone, a small yelp and a loud thump echoing from underneath the car. He emerged from beneath the car, rubbing his head, eyes scrunched and teeth gritted. His tanned face was smeared with oil, as was his (once) white tank top, the blue light of his reactor shining through the cotton.

 

Stark stood up, the music dimming as he did so. It was still audible, but barely so. He raised an eyebrow as though urging her to speak, reaching for a rag on the countertop to wipe his hands. Looking the woman up and down, he figured she was having a slightly more feminine day today. She wore her high heels, black trouser cuffs flared around her ankles, the linen slightly loose around the rest of the leg. Her torso was dressed in an emerald green shirt, ¾ sleeves with a neckline that could only be described as “cleavage”. The shirt itself hugged her curves, flattering the smooth body beneath. Her make-up, as always, was light. Glossed lips – a faint red, closer to pink really. Grey eyeliner bordered her cyan eyes and black mascara flared her already thick lashes. No foundation, as per, but she did have a little powder on her cheekbones – further emphasising the structure.

 

Jade repeated her curt greeting of ‘what?’ - blue eyes shimmering as they met chocolate, folding her arms. Stark merely clicked his tongue in reply as he mopped his brow.

 

“Is that really any way to talk to your boss, sweetheart?” he tutted, a dark eyebrow still arched.

 

“Sorry, sir. What can I do for you, sir?” She replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Stark smiled, waiting for the penny to drop, chuckling as Jade’s brow lowered into a secondary frown. “And don’t call me sweetheart!” She added with a huff, voice raised an octave, arms falling to her sides. Jade had never been a fan of cutsie pet names – at least not from Tony Stark.

 

“Aww,” He teased, tucking the oil smeared rag into his waistband. “You’re so cute when you’re mad.” Tony leaned down slightly, pinching her cheek softly and, unbeknownst to Jade, leaving a small smudge of black on her ashen skin. “Love the new hair colour by the way. Going purple this month? Tell me, can you actually remember your natural hair colour anymore?” He added, taking a longer lock of the plum hair between still vaguely greasy fingers.

 

She batted the hand away, “I’ll ask you again, Anthony. What do you want?” Jade was getting tired of this, she knew Stark for his playful nature – she was sometimes known to encourage it. But today had been rough, hell! The past few weeks had…

 

Lizzie had been sent to Budapest on a mission with Clint and Natasha. That was 3 weeks ago, Jade had heard nothing since she’d seen Lizzie off at Stark’s personal airbase with the Hawk and the Spider. Now, Lizzie could take care of herself, her friend knew that. But Liz was always known to check in when she

could…and Jade was always known to worry. The two women were more than friends. They were like sisters, and had never considered each other to be otherwise. So it was only natural for Jade to be a little on edge.

 

The use of his full name clearly irritated the man, the pursing of his lips and setting of his jaw told her that much. Then again, Jade had always known which buttons to press when it came to people…Especially Stark, Banner, Barton, Rogers and Odinson. Romanoff she left alone, Natasha had been a good friend to both Jade and Liz at SHIELD – so had earned her pardon…For the most part. She was still open to the occasional bit of banter, but nothing too bad. Not that the boys had it particularly awful – just playful teasing and mockery, but they were also open to the torture that only a woman could make a man go through.

 

The twisting of words.

 

The amount of times that Jade had almost given Steve a heart attack when she twisted a compliment he’d given or caused Banner to break out in a sweat because he’d said something about a shirt with a particularly low neckline was too far gone to be remembered – she lost count at 863.

 

“Don’t call me that.” He said simply, walking past her and towards the coffee machine. Stark was usually a little more reserved in his reactions – Jade would give as good as she got. He’d grown to accept this, but it was no less of a bruise to his ego.

 

“Then don’t call me sweetheart.” She replied, smiling as she placed her hands on her hips, the bracelets wrapped around her wrist shifting as she did so. She narrowed her eyes slightly in a pitiful attempt of a stern look.

 

Stark was oblivious to this however, too consumed by his bitter coffee. He rounded the desk stepping back towards Jade. “I’m having a party tonight, just a few people here in the tower. We need supplies – would you be so kind?” He asked between sips of the searing drink.

 

Jade’s heart sank. “A party?” She asked bluntly, her voice low. “Do you not realise the amount of time it takes to plan these things? And how many people is ‘a few’?” She whined. Why does he always insist on doing this? She thought.

 

The man chuckled, his coffee mug finding a home atop a stack of papers. “Relax! Smile, takes less muscles” He replied, giving a wide grin. “It’s really just a few, just us, actually.” He gestured widely, referring to all those in the tower. “It’s a little thing to cheer you up. I know you’ve been a little tetchy lately since blondie left for Budapest.” He walked to Jade and rested a hand on her shoulder reassuringly, his eyes were soft and his smile gentle. Not that Jade saw that, her own eyes were fixed on her feet, lost in the black toes of her shoes. Her friend’s leaving was a subject that Jade did not need reminding of.

 

She was pulled from her empty thoughts, mentally aware that Tony was

speaking, though she did not physically react. It was clear that she had heard every word, but what could not be seen was the pain in her vibrant eyes – tears welling by the second. She clasped her left hand over her wrist, trying to ground herself. Feeling the bracelets beneath her fingers, she let her eyes drift to them.

 

They looked rather like miniaturised rubber belts – one yellow and one orange, worn so they were linked into each other. The bracelets themselves were just a cheap accessory that had been bought some years before – but the sentiments held within them were priceless – they held more memories than she cared to count. When Lizzie and Jade had gone on their first mission together in Afghanistan all those years ago, they had exchanged bracelets. Liz had a set of yellow and green, while Jade held an identical set in blue and orange. Jade gave her dark blue one to Liz, while Liz’s yellow one went to Jade.

 

She gave a mournful smile in memory of the pledge they had made to each other in the chopper that day. Tears threatened again, though this time there was no empty threat. The young woman closed her eyes, trying to hide the tears and failing miserably. A shaky breath fell from her red tinted lips as she stepped a little closer to Tony…She embraced him around the torso, forehead resting just to the right of his reactor -  only able to reach because of her heels.

 

Now, Jade wasn’t sure why she did this. Maybe it was because she felt vulnerable. Maybe it was because she didn’t want Stark to see the tears in her eyes. But most would say it was because, deep down, she just needed to open up a little. Let herself feel. The woman usually had the emotional range of a brick – or at least that’s what she showed. But now the dam was breaking, and the weeks of repressed emotion was flooding free.

 

Tony, however, was completely clueless. He didn’t do crying, much less crying women. He held his arms above her head, unsure whether to hug back or not.

 

After about a minute, though it felt more like an eternity, Jade pulled back – as though the man’s touch had sent a thousand volts of electricity against her skin. She hated people seeing her this way, much less Tony Stark - also known as the eternal twelve year old of Stark Tower. Clearing her throat, oblivious to the oil that had rubbed off of Stark’s vest and onto her shirt, Jade wiped her eyes - trying not to smear her make up and failing, smudging the once thin line of eyeliner - now forming a thick silvery blur.

 

“Come on, short stuff.” The man soothed, placing a hand on her shoulder once more. He’d known pain, loss, that fear for someone that you care so much about - while knowing that there’s nothing you can do. The two rarely went more than 12 hours without at least talking, never mind three weeks. It was always tough on whoever was left behind, and recently, Hunter was the one left to worry in the shadows.

 

Shaking her head with an exhausted laugh, “I’m not short, I’m travel size.” She replied, trying not to let this little breakdown get the best of her.

 

“Stop playing the emotionless robot, it’s okay to cry sometimes. Don’t bottle up, it’s not healthy.”

 

“Tony Stark, lecturing me on health? The man who drinks like an Irishman and replaces sleep with coffee, is lecturing me on health?”

 

“Yes, he is. Hypocritically. But yes… Besides, you’re no teetotal yourself, missy.”

 

Jade laughed again, “I have reason to drink. I need something to take the edge off working for you, and since opium’s illegal, alcohol will have to do.” She explained, her usual self seeping back into the frame.

 

“You’re not exactly easy to work with either.”

 

“You’re just jealous because I kicked your butt last time we stepped into the ring, and everybody saw.”

 

“I let you win that time.” Tony replied firmly, picking up his coffee again.

 

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, boss.” With that, the woman began to head back to her office, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a party to plan.”

 

 


End file.
